Forcythe House
by unwovenbook
Summary: 10th Doctor and Rose travel to regency England where while staying as guests they hear strange rumours about a nearby estate. All the while Rose becomes aware her feelings for the Doctor are changing.
1. Chapter 1

The first few chapters of this fic were written years ago, but I've slightly reworked them with the intention of continuing the story. Enjoy!

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Rose lent against the console and casually flipped a last lever. She cocked her head and grinned at the Doctor as the Tardis settled into position. "Where d'you reckon we've landed? Guess. Go on."

"Could be anywhere, with you driving!"

"Oi!" She mock glared at him, "I've been practicing for months here!"

"Still, if you've inherited your mother's skill with a car you'll be beyond hope with a Tardis."

Several months previously, the Doctor had dug up a dilapidated learning guide titled 'Tardi for Twits' and ordered Rose to study it. He claimed it was a bit of fun, something for her to occupy herself with between adventures. His serious insistence on her practicing, however, made Rose suspect it was in case of an emergency - in case she needed to escape on her own. The thought of being in a situation where that would be necessary chilled her, and she preferred to think of it as a mark of his faith in her abilities. The timelord had confessed she was the first of his companions to learn, demonstrating to Rose that he trusted her implicitly. It gave her a bit of a glow of pride whenever she thought about it.

Rose pulled the Doctor to her side, directing him towards the display. "So what do you think? Good idea?"

He read the display carefully. "Hertfordshire, England, Earth...1801 - Rose, what did you say you were reading last night?"

"Pride and Prejudice." She answered innocently.

"We've already been to the 19th century, more than once. Is this necessary?"

Rose glared at him, "You said this would be my choice! No complaining!"

The Doctor acknowledged this and replied only to warn her. "It won't be the same, you know. It's a work of fiction, don't you go expecting any handsome, brooding heroes to swoop in and ask your hand in marriage." He studied her gravely, and when he appeared satisfied with her assurances that she was "just interested in the background and manners that played such a part in the story", he smiled. "Right. Go and get changed, then."

When Rose returned to the control room she was dressed in faded yellow and white.

The Doctor stared at her. "What on earth have you done to your hair?"

"The Tardis gave me instructions. This was highly in fashion for this time, I'll have you know." Blond ringlets framed Rose's face in the front, and the blue bonnet tied under her chin hid the rest of her hair, pulled back in a bun.

The timelord stepped forward to pull on one of the perfect, blond curls pinned to her head and beamed as it sprung back into place. "I like it." He patted her fondly on the cheek. "And you'll fit right in."

"What about you? If you wear that brown suit of yours you'll look ridiculous! Shouldn't you be in all black and tails with a cravat and all that?"

"Mmm. Wore a cravat once, can't say I'm eager to repeat that experience, wouldn't suit this face at all. I'll keep my suit and pass myself off as an eccentric from London or something."

Impatient to discover and experience, Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand and pulled him toward the door. "Well, come on then you silly alien, no use hanging about in the Tardis chatting when there's so much to see!"

He responded by pulling her hand out of his grasp and placing it on his arm. "Here we find ourselves on the brink of an adventure. Shall we proceed Miss Tyler?"


	2. Chapter 2

What they found outside the Tardis doors was underwhelming. Rose had landed them deep in the woods with not so much as a road in sight. Reluctant to admit any kind of mistake, she insisted that they walk until finding a town, a house, or really anywhere they could get their bearings. However, after about a mile walking in an ankle length dress, Rose was ready to admit defeat.

"So maybe I missed by a bit, I mean, human error, yeah? After all, I did only specify a county, not a city or nothin." The Doctor, whose previously cream coloured converse were now caked with mud, conceded this was so. "And it_ was_ my first time properly driving all on my own, so if the years are a bit off, you know, hardly my fault."

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply to this statement when a house loomed into view. It wasn't the grandest house, Rose thought, but it looked about three stories tall. Quaint was more the word for it, with its weathered yellow stone, large windows, and a neat lawn stretched out the front. The two walked around towards the front of the house, and the Doctor reached out to squeeze Rose's hand.

"So, this is your trip, Rose Tyler, you make the decisions. Do we go up to the house? Or do we explore some more?"

Rose grinned, relishing her control. "I think we go see what this house is about. What's the point of travelling if you don't meet the people, right Doctor?"

"Quite right."

"So, allons-y, then," Rose said, imitating him at his most impatient. He raised his eyebrows at her good naturedly, and looped his arm in hers as they wandered up the dirt drive, and up the few steps to an impressive set of double doors. Rose knocked firmly, and dusted down her dress to make herself look slightly more presentable. The door swung open suddenly to reveal an aging woman whose face showed disapproval so confidently that the expression must have been permanent. From the apron she wore, Rose assumed she was the housekeeper, or something of the sort.

"Good afternoon," the woman glanced icily at Rose and the Doctor's mud-spattered clothes, "What can I do for you?"

"Uhhh," Rose started, "Is anyone here, um, that we could talk to? Whoever lives here, I mean?"

She gestured them in coldly, "If you will be so kind as to follow me, I shall inform Mr and Mrs Phillips that they have guests."

"Brilliant." The Doctor replied brightly, though even his enthusiastic grin did not warm her expression.

"And what names should I announce?"

"This is Miss Rose Tyler and I'm the Doctor."

The housekeeper remained unimpressed. "Doctor what?"

"Smith," Rose chipped in before the Doctor could protest, "Dr John Smith." The housekeeper turned to lead them into the house, and as they walked the Doctor pulled a face at her back, causing Rose to try and stifle a giggle and attempt to look disapproving.

They followed the woman into a sitting room where they were announced to a group of five. Rose couldn't help noting with relief that the people in the room looked much more normal than their standoffish housekeeper suggested. The man sitting nearest to the door looked in his early fifties and Rose assumed he was the Mr Phillips that the housekeeper had mentioned. His wife then was the woman sitting in the armchair directly to his right. Mrs Phillips looked slightly younger than her husband, she would have been quite pretty in her youth with her dark curly hair -now streaked sparsely with grey- and her intelligent eyes. There were three others in the room; a young woman and a young redheaded man, both looked to be about Rose's age, and another redhead- this time a girl in her teens.

The older woman spoke first. "I am Mrs Phillips, this is my husband, my son, Matthew, my daughter, Cecelia, and my youngest daughter Emily." Each member of the family bowed their head as they were introduced. "I don't believe I had heard your names before, are you new in town?"

The Doctor looked to Rose, raised his eyebrows and nodded towards the woman, urging her to speak.

"Uhhhh…yes?" She said uncertainly, caught off guard by the Doctor's uncharacteristic lack of verbosity. She silently urged him to take over the talking.

After a brief, awkward pause, the Doctor rolled his eyes at her and charged into his normal lightning fast speak. "Mrs Phillips, was it? Yes? Well, my dear dear Mrs Phillips, Miss Tyler here was in London for the winter and I was to accompany Miss Tyler on her journey back to her uncle's house in Cambridge. It was an extremely pleasant journey until, not two miles down the road, we were attacked by bandits! The carriage was stolen, along with all of our belongings. We stand before you without a single worldly possession, lost and worn out by our long trek to find help." He was fairly bouncing with enthusiasm as he stopped speaking, obviously having fun delivering this monologue. His eager expression slightly putting his last claims to doubt, Rose thought. The Doctor always enjoyed lying extravagantly, but this story seemed a bit ludicrous, even by his standards.

Mr Phillips spoke up, easily accepting the Doctor's explaination. "The roads nearby are notorious for the threat they pose to travellers. My sincerest condolences."

"How terribly awful," Emily, the youngest daughter, chimed in sympathetically, "can we do anything to help?"

The Doctor considered this offer and replied, "At the present we are completely lost. If perhaps you could give us directions to the nearby town where an honest hotel is to be found, we could not repay your kindness enough."

Emily looked affronted at this. "Oh, no! You mustn't go into town, you must stay with us! We have spare rooms enough, don't we mama?"

The older daughter, Cecelia, agreed, "Certainly we cannot make them walk into town tonight, it is a good hour by foot and the sun is beginning to set."

Mrs. Phillips smiled affectionately at her daughters. "Quite so. Please do us the honour of staying as long as you might wish. As for your clothes, Dr Smith, I feel certain you are of Matthew's size. And certainly Cecelia can lend you anything you need, Miss Tyler."

"Mine thanks to thee are verily from my heart." Rose trilled.

"No. No, don't do that." The Doctor muttered as the rest of the room stared at her in astonishment.

Mrs. Phillips rang a bell and from nowhere, the housekeeper appeared. "Mrs. Marstworth, can you show our visitors to their rooms? I'm certain they are tired after their eventful journey."

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Let me know what you think so far! xx


	3. Chapter 3

That night at dinner Rose found herself next to Matthew and across from Emily. The younger girl was proving to be a talker, and was peppering her with rapid questions: "What is your age, Miss Tyler? Have you any siblings? How do you find the weather at present, is it not most pleasant for this time of year? Pray tell, Miss Tyler, do you have any talent at the piano-forte? Were you ever instructed in drawing?"

Rose scrabbled to find appropriately vague answers to appease the eager girl, who continued on, ignorant of her reluctance. "Confide in me Miss Tyler, I shall not speak a word to anybody on the subject, but are you...engaged to Dr Smith?"

Rose's cheeks reddened, "No! No! We're not…he's...my cousin?"

Emily looked surprised and glanced over at the Doctor, "I do not see the slightest resemblance, how odd! And surely his being your cousin does not mean you are prohibited from marrying."

"Oh, right, yeah, course not, I was just mean that's why we were traveling together." Rose looked desperately at the Doctor, but he had been placed at the other end of the table. He, by comparison was conversing easily with his neighbours (Miss Phillips, have you ever had a banana? Yes, a yellow fruit from the tropics. What a shame! No, I was never in the army, I encountered them in a greenhouse in London. You must try one someday!). Cecelia looked entranced, and the Doctor seemed to be thoroughly enjoying playing to such an appreciative audience. Rose felt a stab of uncertainty in the pit of her stomach watching them together, they looked like they were having a very good time.

Seeing Rose's distraction, Emily tried another line of questioning. "Miss Tyler, this uncle you were on the way to visit, is he expecting you? Will he not worry if you do not arrive tonight? If you feel inclined to write a letter, notifying him of your circumstances, I am certain papa could persuade the manservant to take it to the post office in town tonight, or at the very least, tomorrow morning."

"Oh, uh, no thanks, you see, my uncle is on holiday in Bath. He invited me to stay at his house if I was bored of London, so if I'm here for a while he won't notice."

"Bored of London?" Matthew, who had been listening to their conversation, sounded incredulous, "Surely not, Miss Tyler, I could never tire of London with all its distractions and society."

Rose was thankful to be back on a subject she knew well. "Do you go to London often, Mr Phillips?"

"Indeed I do, it is where I live for a good portion of the year. I am a student of mathematics at the university. I return as frequently as possible to visit my family, and that is where you presently find me."

"Must be nice to have a house like this to come back to, the gardens and all are so pretty."

Emily jumped at the chance to make her way back in the conversation. "Aren't they? I love walking around here. Did you know Matthew helped design the garden himself? I believe it is nearly as grand as the one at Forcythe! Don't you agree Matthew?" She didn't stop for confirmation, "Though of course we don't have a gardener every day and our lawn isn't nearly as big. Still I think our roses might almost be prettier for all that don't you? Or at least they smell magnificent when they are in bloom."

"Forcythe? Is that another house?" Rose prompted the younger girl to keep talking, it was much easier than answering questions herself.

The younger girl looked astonished at Rose's ignorance and in her momentary silence, Matthew stepped in. "It's the estate about two miles west of here. Very grand place, enormous grounds, but it's hardly ever occupied."

"Well," Emily continued, dropping her voice, "not to say that nobody ever lets it, but just as soon as each new tenants move in, they disappear!"

"Disappear?" Rose replied, her curiosity piqued.

"Well, you know, move out. Just weeks after moving in!"

"Why's that, then?"

"Nobody really knows, it is not that the house is unsatisfactory; it itself is magnificently decorated and the grounds are certainly nothing to complain of. The location is ideal; it is close enough to town to be useful, but not close enough to have unpleasant characters wandering in. The society is entertaining, if nowhere as varied as in London. There can be nothing lacking, and yet nobody stays for more than a month, or, in one case, they removed themselves in a fortnight. What an insult! What disgrace, and yet they could not be persuaded to stay! Is that not a mystery Miss Tyler?"

"Yeah, sounds weird." She looked over at the Doctor, wondering if he had heard anything Emily was saying, he was always up for a good mystery. However, at the moment he seemed to be absorbed in telling Mr Phillips and Cecelia a hilarious anecdote about a chance meeting with George III. Rose made a mental note to ask him later whether any of it was true. Knowing him, it probably was.

"What we do know," Emily continued, pulling Rose's attention back to her, "is that every time there is a new resident at Forcythe, some misfortune befalls them. Someone is taken ill, a maid goes missing, or the owner injures themselves, something of that nature."

At this Rose frowned. "Well, that's not exactly that strange is it? That's sort of everyday life."

"Well, perhaps, Miss Tyler, but to every new resident? Within a month each time? No, I think it very odd indeed. And what is worse, after perhaps a week of visits, a ball at best, they are never seen in society again! It seems that though they are anxious to move out of the house, they cannot be persuaded to go out while occupying it. Do you not consider that uncommonly strange?"

Rose was saved from answering by Mrs Phillips, who had overheard the last part of their conversation. "Come now, Emily, we don't want to bother Miss Tyler with ungrounded gossip." Following this veiled reproach, Emily focused mainly on her dessert for the rest of dinner.

* * *

The Doctor and Rose had been settled in rooms next to each other at the top of the house. The resulting effect was relative privacy. All of the family had rooms on the first floor, so their only company was the occasional maid passing through. The two therefore felt comfortable talking in the hallway together candidly.

"Noticed you were doing most of the talking round your side of the table. Miss Phillips found bananas as fascinating as you do then?" Rose nudged the Doctor playfully, enjoying the comfortable teasing after hours of talking with strangers.

The Doctor stared off into the distance dreamily. "Yup! Can you believe it? No one in this house has ever tried a banana except us two!" Rose laughed as he shook his head tragically. "So what did you think of the family then?"

Rose considered, "Normal as far as I can tell. No, I dunno, extra eyes or weird tentacles or anything."

"Well, you never know!" The Doctor replied cheerily, "Some species keep their tentacles very cleverly hidden. But I agree, the Phillipses are human through and through."

"Not sure about Cecelia though."

"What?" The Doctor quirked an eyebrow, "You think she's an alien?"

"No, no, it's just…she didn't seem a little- over interested to you?" Rose's mind flashed to the memory of Cecelia and the Doctor talking animatedly during dinner; she hanging on to his every word, and he responding eagerly.

"What? Didn't notice anything."

"Oh...it's just that she looked a bit like she was acting or something, that's all. I don't know, probably nothing. Being silly, me."

The Doctor appeared not to register that she was talking, he seemed to be stewing over something completely separate from their conversation. "Rose. How long were you thinking about staying here?

"Dunno. A couple nights, maybe see the town before we leave."

"Do you mind if we extend that to a week or so? Maybe longer. Anyways, see how it turns out."

Rose frowned at this proposal, usually the Doctor didn't like to stay in one place for too long unless Rose was visiting home in which case he was forced to wait for her. While considering this, she felt suddenly that the Doctor was very distant. He seemed unwilling to share what was on his mind, and she didn't want to push it. Every time she felt he was the closest friend she'd ever had, something happened to make him feel very far away from her. As she was on the verge of saying something, the Doctor bid a distracted good night and strode into his room. Rose was left alone in the corridor with only her thoughts for company.


End file.
